Robert Cohen, professor of social studies and history at NYU, has come to the defense of Jew hater Alice Walker– by pointing to a poem of hers that refers repeatedly to Zionist Nazis (hat tip: Caroline).
I kid you not.
Hoping that it is possible to restore some semblance of fairness and balance to this discussion, I offer below, complete and unedited, Alice Walker’s poem “Conscious Earthlings,” written earlier this year. The poem offers fierce criticism of Israel yet conveys warmth towards Jewish friends; it praises Jews who demonstrate solidarity on behalf of a world free of bigotry and share “the dream of one humanity … one United Tribe of Conscious Earthlings.” By reading the poem you can judge for yourself whether it offers evidence that critics have erred in denouncing Alice Walker as anti-Semitic.
Just to be clear: Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis falls under the IHRA’s working definition of antisemitism.
Using this poem that actually reaffirms Walker’s antisemitism is almost as absurd as believing in reptilian space beings from the constellation Draco and their shapeshifting hybrid descendants controlling the world.
Almost.
